The word ‘then’ can function as different parts of speech depending on its usage in a sentence. Here are the main roles it can play:
- Adverb: Most commonly, ‘then’ is used as an adverb. It indicates time or sequence. For example, in the sentence, ‘We went to the store, and then we went home,’ ‘then’ shows the sequence of events.
- Adjective: In some cases, ‘then’ can be used as an adjective to describe a noun. For example, ‘The then president made an important announcement.’ Here, ‘then’ refers to the president at that specific time.
- Noun: Rarely, ‘then’ can be used as a noun to refer to a specific time. For example, ‘From then on, everything changed.’ In this context, ‘then’ refers to a particular moment in the past.
Understanding the context in which ‘then’ is used is key to determining its part of speech in a sentence.